Car-axle box



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet` 1. W. O. DUNBAR.

vGARAXLE BOX.

No.v392,593. Patented Nov. 13, 1888.

NV PETERS. Phew-l nhugmplmr. wnshngmn. D C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. O. DUNBAR.

GAP. AXLB BOX.

No. 392,593. Patented Nov. 13, 1888.

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N. PEYERS. Phom-Limagmpher, washinginn, ILC.

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VILLIAM OTIS DUNBAR, OF ALTOON A, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR=AXL BX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,593, dated November 13, 1888. i

Application led October 2G, 1887. Serial No. 253,434. (No modeLJ with thcjournals and journal-bearings of railway-car axles, its object being to provide means for insuring` amore perfect lubrication of the journals than is possible with the devices heretofore in use, as well as the prevention of spilling and consequent wastage of the lubricant.

Referring to the drawings, in which my invention is illustrated, Figure l is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a journal of a rail- Waycar axle with its box, bearing, and ring, the section being taken vertically through the axis of the journal, Fig. 2, a transverse section of the same parts taken on the line I l of Fig. I; Fig. 3,a horizonal section of the journal-box taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a sectional elevation similar to that illustrated in Fig. I, but showing. a'slightly modin fied arrangement of parts, Fig. 5, a transverse section of the same taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4; Fig. (i, an end elevation of the cover, by means of which the apertures through the horizontal partition in thejournal-box maylbe partially closed; Fig. 7, a side elevation of a journal and journal-bearing of the form shown in Fig. l removedfrom theirbox; Figs. Sand 9, plan and end views, respectively, of ajournal-bearing detached; and Fig. I0,a view of a still further modified arrangement ofjournal, journalbearing, box, and ring, the journal bearing being shown in elevation and the reniaining parts in section.

In all the figures like letters are employed to designate corresponding parts.

A indicates ajournal,which is or may be of the ordinary form, .and B a bearing in which it is seated.

C indicates a box for holding the bearing, the saine being constructed in any preferred form and provided with a receptacle, G, in its lower part for the reception of oil or other lubricant which may be stored therein.

Carried upon the outer end of the journal A is a small pulley, Z, the object and purpose of which will presently appear. This small pulley may be made either integrally with the `journal A, as shown, for instance, in Figs. 4. and 10, or separate therefrom, as shown in Figs. l and 7, and secured to the latter in any convenient manner. In the construction of new axles it may be found desirable to make such pulley integrally with the journal A, as the latter may then be turned down in the process of manufacture to the desired size and shape to form the former; but in altering over old journals not so constructed it will'be found advantageous to make the pulley of a separate piece and secure it in place by screws or otherwise. When this last course is pursued, I find it convenient to construct the pulley in the form of a stud with a head, ci, upon its outer end of suitable forni to receive ascrewdriver or Wrench, and with a threaded inner portion or stem, a, which screws into a correspondinglyshaped orifice formed in the end of thejournal A, as shown in Figs l and 7.

Mounted upon and rotated by the pulley b is a ring or annulus, E, which serves to raise the oil or other lubricant from the receptacle G and deposit it upon the appropriate surface, from which it is conducted to the point where required. This ring or annulus is held at all times in proper position upon the pulley b either by a Harige, c, formed upon the outer end of the latter, as shown in Figs.. 1,4, and 7, or by the stop O, which receives and takes up the endwise thrust of the axle when such stop is employed, as illustrated in Fig. 10.

In the manufacture of these rings I prefer to employ some cast metal-such, for instance, as cast-iron, bronze, brass, orother similar materialand to use them in their rough state with as little finishing up as is possible; and in order to prevent their outer edges from becoming battered or spread sufficiently to interfere with their rotation between the outer end of the journal A and the flange c or stop O, if thrown violently against the interior of the box, I iind it desirable to construct the outer peripheries of said rings or annuli in semicircular form in cross-section. The inte- IOO rior surfaces of these rings or annnli, on the other hand, will be made of such form in cross-section as will adapt thein tothe surfaces of the pulleys in connection with which they are to co-operate; and in most instances the entire surfaces of the rings or annuli will be made smooth, but when applied to slow-moving journals it may be 'found necessary to provide them with notches or pockets whereby to insure a more positive raising of the lubricant.

Extending outward from the front end of the bearing B is a projection, as, having its underside hollowed out, so as to form two edges, b2 b, which are arranged in such relation with respect to the fiange on the outer end of the journal A as to touch or nearly touch the cylindrical surface thereof, and serve not only to remove the body of the oil or other lubricant brought up and deposited upon it by the ring when in revolution, and cause a larger portion of the same to pass down to the jonrnal, but also to prevent the ring ll from being jarrcd or thrown off its pulley b. jcction will be employed when, owing to the location of the ring or rings on thejournal, it is deemed necessary, but generally only when the ring is suspended from a pulley projecting from or secured to the end of the journal, and the said'journalitselfis provided with a flange at its outer end, as nearly all the railway-,caraxle journals in use are now provided; but when the journals are constructed without these flanges, as shown, for instance, in Figs. 1 and 10, the bearing may be made without such projection and of a length equal to the length of the journals, or nearly so.

The ring may be applied to the journal either on a pulley carried by the same, as above described, or, when the box is of sufficient width and depth, to the outer surface thereof, both of which arrangements are shown in Fig. 4.

The journal-bearing Bis provided on each of its sides with a projection or shelf, c2,which is inclined downward lengthwise thereof from the end next the projection :c for a short distance toward its other end, and for the remainder of the distance is horizontal,or nearly so, as shown in Fig. 7. The under sides of these shelves are at the same time curved or inclined downwardly transversely of the same from their outer edges toward the journal, as shown in Figs. 2, 5, and 9, so that they will readily conduct the oil which may flow over their edges to the journal. These shelves are shown as fiat on their upper surface; but they may be made trough-shaped, if desired. (See Fig. 5.)

The journal-bearing may also be provided on its top with troughs c3, as shown in Fig. 8, to conduct any oil that may run or be thrown upon it down the sides of the bearing near the center thereof and to the journal.

It will be observed that as the j ournal-bearing B wears away the distance between the bottom 0f the oil reservoir and the ring will increase, and as the wear increases the ring will extend into the oil less and lessin a corre- This pro- A sponding degree. To compensate for this wear, Ipropose to supply pulleys, which support and rotate the ring, of different diameters,and when first applying them to a journal to use one of the largest diameters, which will be so proportioned as to permitofthe ring reaching as near the bottom of the reservoir as is possible without coming in contact with it. Afterward, as the journal or journalbearing becomes worn away sufficiently to raise the ring out of the reservoir to such an extent as to impair its efficiency, to substitute another pulley of smaller diameter, and so on, the substituted pulley in all instances being so proportioned as to admit ofthe ring reaching suliiciently far down into the receptacle to insure the taking up of the proper amount of lubricant to effect the efficient lubrication of thejournal. To accomplish this in another way, and as a modification of the above, the pulley for the ring can be made of as small diameter as practicable and provided with one or more rings to increase its size to the proper extent required. Then as the journal-bearing wears away one or more of the rings can be removed, which will decrease the size of the pulley and thereby lower the lubricating-ring into the receptacle sufficiently far to permit of its taking up the proper amount of lubricant to insure its efficient operation.

Different sizes of rings E can also be employed, so that when the journal-boxes are of sufficient width and depth to admit of it the rings E, which have been in use and which, owing to the wear of the journals or journalbearings, have become inoperative,can be removed and replaced by others of larger diameter.

Located within the box C beneath the journal A, and preferably concentric therewith, or practically so, is a horizontal partition, F, through an opening, e, in which the ring E enters the lubricant stored in the receptacle below. This partition preferably slopes from each end toward the opening e, which may be partially closed, if desired, with a cover, H, extending across the same through the aperture in the ring E, as shown in Figs. l and 3.

Various means may be employed for holding this cover in place. I prefer, however, to make use of T-shaped lugs projecting from its under side, as shown at h and '17, which are adapted to enter similarly-formed slots formed in the partition F on opposite sides ofthe opening c therein, as illustrated at f and g. These IOO slots, instead of being formed with their smaller l ends lying in the same direction, are so disposed as to cause them to approach each other, whereby to prevent the accidental displace ment of the cover should the same be thrown violently toward either the front or the rear of the box; but while thus held from accidental displacement said cover may be readily removed by simply drawing it toward the front of the box, which may be done by seizing the projection la formed upon it, then raising the lug it out of its slot g, then pushing the cover ISC toward the rear of the box', and afterward raising the lug 'i out ofv its slotf, the replacement of the cover being effected by a reversal of these operations.

The object of the partition and its cover is to prevent the lubricant in the chamber G from being thrown therefrom by'splashing while the car is in motion through the opening e and out of the opening in the rear of the box, through which the axle enters, or through the front or lid opening therein. The incline of the partition toward the opening e serves to return any of the lubricant which may escape through the same back again to its receptacle G.

The construction of parts as thus described is substantially the one that will be adopted when my invention is applied to new boxes especially constructed with that end in View; but when applied to old boxes, or those now in use, a false partition, or a fioat, or a splasher may be substituted.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the partition F is shown as separate from the box andas madein two parts, m and a, of thin sheet metalas tin or zinc, for instance-the part m being provided with a loop, o, and t-he part a with a tongue, p, to enter said loop and connect them together. The portion m has a dange, q, which rests upon the bottom of the box, and may also have two prongs, i', secured to it to enter holes s, made in the box C, as shown. The part ais secured to the box by a screw or pin, t, or may be held in place by the lid of the box resting on it.

Instead of the above, a simple oat of wood or a coil of tin or other material may be laid loosely in the reservoir, and only fastened as may be necessary to prevent it from interfering with the ring IG.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The axle-journal and the pulley b carried thereby being in revolution, the ring E will be caused to revolve by the pulley revolving against its inner periphery, the weight of the ring E on said pulley creating sufficient friction to cause said ring to rotate practically without any slip. The lower portion of the ring being immersed in the lubricant in the chamber G, as shown, said ring as it revolves will raise some of the lubricant and deposit a portion of it upon the cylindrical surface of the Hange of the `journal, and as the said surface passes under the projecting end n; of the journal-bearing some of the lubricant which gathers on the surface of the flange will be arrested by the edge bt', experiment showing that a pool of such lubricant will stand at the point a/ (see Fig. 7) when the journal is revolving in the direction of arrow 7. From this pool the lubricant will be caused to flow down the side of the iiange on the end of the journal and between it and the end of the bearing onto thejournal. Some of the lubricant will also pass from the pool a down the incline of the shelf c2, and as it increases in quantity on said shelf will i'iow over the edge of it down the inclined or curved under side of said shelf to the surface ol thejournal and lubricate its surface to advantage, experiment having proved that the above-described mechanism supplied as much oil or lubricant ascan pass between the bearing surfaces and decreased the friction as much as it is possible to do with the best-known lubricant.

In the foregoing I have described the best means contemplated by me for carrying my invention into practice; but it is to be under stood that I do not limit myself strictly thereto, as it is obvious that I may modify the same without departing from the spirit thereof*- as, for instance, instead of using asingle ring, I may employ one upon the end of the journal and another midway of its length, as shown in full and dotted lines in Fig. 4; or I may employ two rings upon its end, or two upon thejournal intermediate its length, if I so desire.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a journal and a ring mounted thereon at or near its end for lubricating the same, of a bearing for said journal provided with a projection for co-operating with such ring, and a box in which the bearing is mounted provided with a horizontal partition beneath the journal, snbstantially as described.

2. rI hecombinatiomwith ajournaland aring mounted thereon for lubricating the same, of a bearing for said journal provided with a proiection and shelves for co-operating with such ring,and' a box in which the bearingis mounted provided with a horizontal partition beneath the journal, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a journal provided with a pulley near its end and a ring mounted upon such pulley to lubricate the iournal, of the bearing vfor said journal provided with a projection and shelves i'or eo-operation with said ring, and a box in which such bearing is arranged provided with a horizontal partition which is disposed beneath the journal, substantially as described.

Aal. The combination, with a journal having' apulley and iiange atits end anda ring mounted upon such pulley,of a bearing for said journal provided with shelvcsanda projection for io-operation with said ring, and, a box in which the bearing is arranged provided with a horizontal partition disposed beneath the journal, substantially as described. l

5. The combination of the journal provided with a pulley, I), the ring E, thejournal-bearing B, having the projection @and the box C, formed with the partition F, said partition being provided with an opening, substantially as described.

(i. The combination of the journal A, pro- -vided with a pulley, b, the ring E, the journal-bearing B, having the projection zc, the box C,formed with the partition F, having in it an opening, `and the cover I-I to partially IOO iro

cover said opening, said partition and cover having` means of connecting the two together, all essentially as shown and described.

7. The box C, formed with a curved parti- 5 tion extending longitudinally of the saine near the bottom thereof, said partition being provided with an opening through the same and inclined from both ends ofthe box downwardly toward said opening, substantially as described.

8. The box C, having holes s, in combination with the false partition F, said partition being composed of the part m, having the tiange q, loop o, and prongs r, and the part n, having the tongue p, as shown and described.

9. The combination of the journal A, pr0- vided with the pulley b and ring E, the box C, and thejournal-bearing B, provided with the projection 0c, and having to its lower edges shelves or troughs c'iinclincd as described,and for the purposes set forth.

10. The combination of thejournal A, having one or more rings, E, arranged or suspendedfrom said journal, with the box C and the journal-bearing B, having to the lower edges of its sides shelves or troughsinclined as described, and for the purposes set forth.

11. The combination ofthe journal A, provided with the pulley b, the ring E, journalbearing B, having the projection x, the bex (l, and the false partition F', substantially as shown and described.

12. The combination of the journal A, pro- -vided with the pulley b, the ring E, the box C,and the journal-bearing B, provided with the projection and having in its top the trough c3 and to its lower edges shelves 0r troughs c2, inclined as described, and for the purposes set forth.

13. The combination of the journal A, provided with the pulley b, with the ring E, journal-bearing B, box C, and the end stop,(),sub stantially as shown and described.

14. The combination, with a journal provided with a pulley and aring mounted thereon for lubricating said journal, of a bearing provided with a projection extending over and in proper relation to said ring to prevent the same from being thrown from its pulley, substantially as described.

15. The combination of thejournal provided with a pulley, b, the ring E, box C, and the j ournal-bearing B, having the projection x,ex tending over and in proper relation t0 said ring to prevent the same from being thrown from its pulley, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

WILLAM OTIS DUNBAR.

VVit-nesses:

S. N. PIPER, Giras. H. LORD. 

